<p><strong>Meta Platforms</strong> <span class="ticker-mention inline-flex items-center font-bold">(META <span class="ml-1 text-green-900">+6.16%</span>)</span> just closed out quite an eventful week. Shares of the social media giant jumped about 6% on Friday alone as investors warm back up to CEO Mark Zuckerberg's aggressive artificial intelligence (AI) strategy.</p>
<p>The company has given them plenty to work with this year. Growth is accelerating, its new AI lab released its first model this spring, and capital spending guidance now tops $125 billion.</p>
<p>But let's zoom out for a second. How has the stock done over the long haul? Specifically, how much would $10,000 invested in Meta a decade ago be worth today?</p>
<div><img alt="A chart showing a soaring stock price." width="880" height="500" src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://g.foolcdn.com/image//query-b3A9cmVzaXplJnVybD1odHRwczovL2cuZm9vbGNkbi5jb20vZWRpdG9yaWFsL2ltYWdlcy84Nzg1MDkvbWV0YS1zdG9jay1wcmljZS5qcGcmdz0zODQw?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://g.foolcdn.com/image//query-b3A9cmVzaXplJnVybD1odHRwczovL2cuZm9vbGNkbi5jb20vZWRpdG9yaWFsL2ltYWdlcy84Nzg1MDkvbWV0YS1zdG9jay1wcmljZS5qcGcmdz0zODQw"/>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
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<h2>How the math works out</h2>
<p>In 2016, Meta -- then still called Facebook -- traded at an average price of about $116 per share. A $10,000 investment at that price would have bought about 86 shares. With the stock trading near $670 as of this writing, those shares would be worth roughly $57,600 today, a nearly sixfold gain.</p><div><div id="foolcom_sidebar_top_mobile_container"><div><div><div></div><div></div><div></div></div></div><div></div></div></div>
<p>And dividends sweeten the total a little. Meta initiated its first-ever dividend in early 2024 at $0.50 per share quarterly, and the quarterly payout now stands at $0.525 per share. Those 86 shares would have collected a bit over $400 in dividends so far, bringing the total value to about $58,000.</p><div></div>
<p>That works out to a compound annual growth rate of about 19%.</p><div><div id="in_line_article_pitch_container"><div><div><div><div></div></div><div><div></div><div></div><div></div></div></div></div><div></div></div></div>
<h2>The engine hasn't slowed</h2>
<p>Of course, none of that return is available to anyone buying today. What matters now is whether the business that produced it is still performing.</p>
<p>What impresses me most is that ten years in, Meta's growth is accelerating, not fading. Revenue rose 22% in 2025 to $201.0 billion, and the growth rate stepped up through the year, from 24% year over year in the fourth quarter to 33% in the first quarter of 2026, when revenue hit $56.3 billion. The formula hasn't changed, either. The company sells more ads, at higher prices, across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. Ad impressions rose 19% year over year in the first quarter, the average price per ad rose 12%, and an average of 3.56 billion people used at least one of Meta's apps each day in March.</p>
<p>All that advertising produces enormous profits. Meta's first-quarter operating income rose 30% year over year to $22.9 billion. And shareholders are seeing plenty of the cash. The company spent over $26 billion on share repurchases in 2025, paid another approximately $5 billion in dividends and dividend equivalents, and still ended the year with more than $81 billion in cash and marketable securities.</p>
<p>And the company is spending like it believes the next decade holds more. Meta recently raised its 2026 guidance for capital expenditures to a range of $125 billion to $145 billion, much of it aimed at AI infrastructure. Its second-quarter outlook, meanwhile, calls for revenue of $58 billion to $61 billion.</p>
<p>&#34;We had a milestone quarter with strong momentum across our apps and the release of our first model from Meta Superintelligence Labs,&#34; said Zuckerberg in the company's first-quarter earnings release.</p>
<p>That spending is also the market's biggest worry about the stock. If the AI investments don't pay off in continued growth, today's expense ramp could weigh on profits for years to come. This past week, at least, investors treated the spending as a positive.</p>
<section><div><div><div><small><div>Expand</div></small></div><div><img alt="Meta Platforms Stock Quote" width="64" height="64" src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://g.foolcdn.com/image//query-b3A9cmVzaXplJnVybD1odHRwczovL2cuZm9vbGNkbi5jb20vYXJ0L2NvbXBhbnlsb2dvcy9tYXJrL01FVEEucG5nJnc9MTI4?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://g.foolcdn.com/image//query-b3A9cmVzaXplJnVybD1odHRwczovL2cuZm9vbGNkbi5jb20vYXJ0L2NvbXBhbnlsb2dvcy9tYXJrL01FVEEucG5nJnc9MTI4"/></div><div><h2>NASDAQ: META</h2><div>Meta Platforms</div></div></div><div><div><div>Today's Change</div><div>(6.16%) $38.92</div><div>Current Price</div><div>$670.40</div></div><div></div></div></div><div><div></div><div><h3>Key Data Points</h3><div><div>Market Cap</div><div><span class="inline-flex items-center gap-1">$1.7T<span class="group/market-cap relative inline-flex shrink-0 align-middle"><span></span><span id="_R_26kv5tminr5uamivb_" class="sr-only">Market cap calculated using publicly traded shares outstanding only. Does not include unlisted, private, or dual-class non-traded shares. Implied market cap may vary.</span><span class="pointer-events-none absolute z-50 mt-1 w-64 rounded-md bg-gray-900 px-3 py-2 text-xs leading-snug whitespace-normal! wrap-break-word normal-case! text-gray-50 opacity-0 shadow-lg transition-opacity group-hover/market-cap:opacity-100 group-focus-within/market-cap:opacity-100 top-full right-0 left-auto translate-x-0">Market cap calculated using publicly traded shares outstanding only. Does not include unlisted, private, or dual-class non-traded shares. Implied market cap may vary.</span></span></span></div><div>Day's Range</div><div>$658.01 - $677.85</div><div>52wk Range</div><div>$520.26 - $796.25</div><div>Volume</div><div>2.3M</div><div>Avg Vol</div><div>17.8M</div><div>Gross Margin</div><div>81.94%</div><div>Dividend Yield</div><div>0.31%</div></div></div></div></section>
<h2>Should investors expect a repeat?</h2>
<p>Sure, the backtest is fun. But nobody should buy Meta stock expecting another 19% a year for a decade. The company is vastly larger today than it was in 2016, and growth can get harder with size. Additionally, competition for attention and ad dollars isn't easing, and regulators around the world continue to scrutinize the company.</p>
<p>But the stock's price doesn't demand a repeat, either. Shares trade at about 19 times forward earnings -- a reasonable multiple for a company that just grew revenue 33% year over year -- even accounting for the risks of a $125 billion-plus spending plan. That valuation multiple, of course, could come down if growth slows, but this multiple also hardly assumes another decade of dominance.</p>
<p>After all, the lesson of the decade-long backtest isn't that Meta was a once-in-a-generation bargain in 2016. It's that an enormously profitable business kept compounding while plenty of investors found reasons to sell along the way.</p>
<p>For long-term investors, I think Meta remains a solid holding today. I just wouldn't let a $58,000 backtest set my expectations for the next ten years.</p><div id="article_pitch_container"><div><div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div></div></div><div></div></div><div id="promobox_container"><div><div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div></div></div><div></div></div>

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<p>Meta Platforms shares rose 6% following strong AI strategy and accelerating growth. A $10,000 investment a decade ago is now worth ~$58,000, yielding 19% CAGR. Q1 2026 revenue hit $56.3B (+33%), with operating income up 30%. Despite $125B+ capex guidance for AI, the stock trades at a reasonable 19x forward earnings. The author views Meta as a solid long-term holding but cautions against expecting past decade's returns.</p>

- Meta Platforms has seen a recent stock price increase, marking a 6% jump as investor confidence in its AI strategy grows.  
- Ten years ago, a $10,000 investment in Meta would now be valued at approximately $58,000, demonstrating a compound annual growth rate of about 19%.  
- While current market challenges persist, including competition and regulatory scrutiny, Meta's reasonable valuation and ongoing growth initiatives present a compelling case for long-term investors.

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$10,000 Invested in Mark Zuckerberg's Meta a Decade Ago Is Worth This Much Today